Woman says $26M California lottery ticket destroyed in wash
The winner of a $26 million California Lottery prize may have literally washed the chance of a fortune down the drain. The winning SuperLotto Plus ticket for the Nov. 14 drawing was sold at an Arco AM/PM convenience store in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk. Thursday was the last...
Columbus reaches $10M settlement for family of Andre Hill
Ohio’s capital city will pay a $10 million settlement for the family of Andre Hill, a Black man who was fatally shot by a white Columbus police officer in December as he emerged from a garage holding a cellphone, the Columbus city attorney announced Friday. It’s the largest such settlement...
Free offices with a view: 4 lighthouses, courtesy of feds
Dreading your eventual return to the office? The federal government is making available — for free — some waterfront workspaces with killer views that are sure to entice. But there’s a catch. The General Services Administration says the U.S. Coast Guard has decided it no longer needs four of the...
The unwitting are the target of covid-19 falsehoods online
Dr. Michelle Rockwell lost a pregnancy in December and shared her heartache with her 30,000 Instagram followers. Weeks later, she received the covid-19 vaccine and posted about that, too. By February, Rockwell was getting past the grief and finally starting to experience moments of joy. But then, to her horror,...
Mississippi River traffic reopened under damaged bridge
River traffic has reopened on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, three days after it was closed when a crack was discovered in the Interstate 40 bridge that connects Tennessee and Arkansas, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday. Arkansas authorities, meanwhile, said a video taken by an inspector two years...
Covid cases continue to drop across Pennsylvania as more get vaccinated
Reported cases of covid-19 and related deaths and hospitalizations continued their downward trend in Pennsylvania as the number of vaccinated residents marched upward. Pennsylvania on Friday added 1,643 cases of covid-19, pulling the seven-day case average down to 1,892, the 14th consecutive drop for the average, according to data from...
Senate bill would let residents donate to breast cancer research when renewing driver’s licensesVideo
When state Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward revealed this week that she’d been diagnosed with stage-one breast cancer late last year, she hoped she could use her position to help women both prevent and battle the disease. Her colleagues helped take a step in that direction, unanimously passing a bill...
House panel has agreement on bipartisan Jan. 6 commission
WASHINGTON — The top Democratic and Republican members of the House Homeland Security Committee have reached an agreement on legislation to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The measure had stalled amid partisan differences. Under the terms of the agreement announced Friday,...
Woman hit with 10-pound pack of meat, spit at during fight at Walmart: police
A confrontation in an Ohio Walmart led to one woman being struck in the face by a 10-pound pack of meat earlier this week, according to police. The incident started Tuesday when the two women crossed paths in the potato chip aisle, according to South Euclid police. It’s unclear what...
Pennsylvania voters to decide racial equity amendment
HARRISBURG — Protests over George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police were raging across the country last June when a Democratic lawmaker took to the floor of the Pennsylvania Senate to argue for greater protections against racial discrimination. Next week, nearly a year after Floyd’s death, voters will...
In devotion to Trump, House GOP taps Stefanik for a top post
House Republicans elevated Rep. Elise Stefanik to a leadership post Friday, highlighting how the party whose lodestar has long been conservative policies increasingly views allegiance to Donald Trump as its indispensable key to electoral success. Stefanik, a Trump stalwart from upstate New York, was elected to the No. 3 leadership...
What insurrection? Growing number of Republican lawmakers downplay Jan. 6 siege at Capitol
WASHINGTON — What insurrection? Flouting all evidence and their own first-hand experience, a small but growing number of Republican lawmakers are propagating a false portrayal of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, brazenly arguing that the rioters who used flagpoles as weapons, brutally beat police officers and chanted that...
Afghan police say Kabul mosque bombing kills 12 worshipers
KABUL, Afghanistan — A bomb ripped through a mosque in northern Kabul during Friday prayers killing 12 worshippers, Afghan police said. Spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said the mosque’s imam, Mofti Naiman, was among the dead. Another 15 people were wounded. The bomb exploded as prayers had begun. No one claimed responsibility...
Salvation Army, UnitedHealthcare answer your covid questionsVideo
If you have covid-19 questions, UnitedHealthcare and The Salvation Army of Western Pennsylvania have answers. The organizations collaborated on a video that features doctors and health care providers addressing common inquiries about virus vaccines. It’s called “Understanding Your Options: Covid-19 Vaccine Educational Townhall.” The video is below. There is also...
West Bank erupts in protest amid more Israel-Hamas fighting
Turmoil from the battle between Israel and Hamas spilled over into the West Bank on Friday, sparking the most widespread Palestinian protests in years as hundreds of young demonstrators in multiple towns clashed with Israeli troops, who shot and killed at least 11 people. Israel intensified bombardment of the Gaza...
Rep. Matt Gaetz associate Joel Greenburg expected to plead guilty in federal case
ORLANDO, Fla. — A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for Monday in federal court for Joel Greenberg, the former Seminole County tax collector who resigned in disgrace last June in a case that has reportedly since taken aim at his friend and ally U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. Greenberg...
Congress provided $28 billion to save restaurants. It’s running out
WASHINGTON — Restaurants and bars desperate for a lifeline during covid-19 swarmed to apply for a new government grant to help them pay for rent, utilities, supplies and payroll. In just 10 days, the Small Business Administration has received 266,000 applications asking for $65 billion in aid, more than twice...
Police: 9 wounded in Rhode Island shooting
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Nine people were wounded Thursday evening in Rhode Island’s capital in what police there believe to be the largest shooting in city history. Of the nine, three had serious injuries and were “maybe critical,” Providence Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements told reporters at the scene. He...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene berates Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on House floor for backing ‘terrorists’Video
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene confronted New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the House floor and reportedly berated her for supporting “terrorists” — prompting AOC’s staff to call for better security in Congress. The confrontation on Wednesday, first reported by the Washington Post, began when Greene tried to get the...
Philly health official forced to resign over MOVE cremationsVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s top health official was compelled to resign Thursday after the city’s mayor said he learned human remains from the 1985 bombing of the headquarters of a Black organization had been cremated and disposed of without notifying family members. Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement that Health...
Gas crunch continues across much of U.S. after pipeline hackVideo
CLEMMONS, N.C. — Gas pumps remained shrouded by plastic bags Thursday at thousands of service stations across more than a dozen U.S. states, but the situation could improve as a pipeline company reported “substantial progress” in resuming operations after a computer hack led to its shutdown. Nearly 70% of North...
Marine Corps officer arrested for assault in Jan. 6 riot
An active-duty Marine Corps officer seen on camera scuffling with a police officer and helping other members of the pro-Trump mob force their way into the Capitol on Jan. 6 has been charged in the riot, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Maj. Christopher Warnagiris, 40, of Woodbridge, Virginia, is the first...
Texas lawmakers approve abortion ban as early as 6 weeks
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas would ban abortions after as early as six weeks — before many women even know they are pregnant — and allow private citizens to enforce the rule through civil lawsuits against doctors and others under a measure given final approval by state lawmakers Thursday. The Senate...
Prosecutors in LA announce sweep in fentanyl overdose deaths
LOS ANGELES — At least 11 suspected drug dealers face charges in Southern California that they sold fentanyl and other opioids that led to overdose deaths, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The cases, which are unrelated, are the result of a federal law enforcement task force focused on combating fatal overdoses...
Video shows San Diego police repeatedly punching Black manVideo
SAN DIEGO — A video shot by a bystander shows San Diego police officers repeatedly punching a man in the face, head and leg after tackling him to the ground in the upscale neighborhood of La Jolla, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Thursday. Nicole Bansal told the newspaper she witnessed...
